Cornell Basketball in the News

References to Cornell Basketball in the news media today...

From Soft Pretzel Logic:

I am still debating whether to go to the Penn-Cornell game on Friday in Ithaca, N.Y., at which the Ivy League title could be clinched if the Big Red win and Princeton loses at Columbia. The weather will play a major role in my decision, as you can imagine.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Just because Cornell is from the Ivy League, don't ignore the Big Red or forward Ryan Wittman. The son of the former Cavs coach is averaging 18.3 points for a team that sits at 19-8 on the season. He has posted 33 points on Syracuse, 28 on Indiana, 25 on St. John's and 21 on Minnesota.

From the Philadelphia Daily News:

THE IVY STORY

Cornell (9-3 Ivy) lost at Harvard, 71-70. Princeton (7-4) remains alive and plays at Cornell on Saturday after Penn plays at the Big Red on Friday. Yale and Dartmouth, each at 7-5, are technically still alive. One will be eliminated Friday when Yale hosts Dartmouth. Both will be out if Cornell beats Penn. If Cornell does beat Penn and Princeton loses at Columbia, it is over. A Cornell sweep of Penn and Princeton wins the Ivy under any circumstance.

From the Yale Daily News:

Heading into the weekend, the men’s basketball team had come off two second-half come-from-behind victories to remain in the Ivy League title conversation. The Bulldogs tried to accomplish the feat twice again this weekend but weren’t as successful.

On Friday, the Elis (12-14, 7-5 Ivy) overcame a one-point halftime deficit to avenge their previous loss against Penn (9-16, 5-6) with an 87-79 win at the historic Palestra. But on Saturday, the Bulldogs spotted Princeton (12-12, 7-4) 14 points to begin the contest and did not take a lead in a backbreaking 62-54 loss in New Jersey.

The loss was especially devastating due to Cornell’s (19-9, 9-3) loss at Harvard (13-13, 5-7). A Yale win would have put the Bulldogs just a game behind the Big Red with two games remaining. Instead, Yale will need to sweep the final weekend of the regular season and hope Cornell — currently sporting an unblemished 11-0 home record — gets swept at home next weekend.

***

The outcome all but eliminates Yale from the Ancient Eight championship picture, but keeps Princeton in the race. Just a game behind Cornell, the Tigers head to the Empire State next weekend to battle Columbia (11-15, 6-6) and Cornell on Friday.

A win over the Big Red, along with wins in their two other remaining games, would put Princeton and Cornell in a tie atop the Ivy League standings. If that were the case, a one-game playoff would decide who would earn the Ancient Eight’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

From the Daily Pennsylvanian:

I would submit to you that even if John Wooden in his prime were coaching this year’s Penn team, he wouldn’t have won the league. In terms of talent and experience, Penn is not there yet. Perhaps they could have been coached to more wins, but certainly not past Cornell to an Ivy League title.

From the Tiger Blog (Princeton Athletics Department):

March Begins Meaningful for Men's Basketball

The Princeton men's basketball team will be playing meaningful games in March. There are no more "ifs" about that.

Last night's win over Yale, coupled with Cornell's improbable 71-70 loss at Harvard, has made this much true for the Tigers. Keep winning, and the Ivy League championship is theirs.

But before we break down all the "ifs" around this weekend's trip to New York, remember how unexpected it is for the Tigers to be in the Ivy League title chase in college basketball's most sacred month.

Five Ivy League wins between 2007 and 2008, and seven already this season. Picked last in the preseason poll, and alone in second place heading into the final weekend. From a team that went 6-23 overall and 3-11 in the Ivy in 2007-08, 58% of Princeton's scoring from last season wasn't in uniform for this one, leaving the field wide open for someone, and ideally several someones, to step up and fill the gap.

Junior Zach Finley, the leading returning rebounder from last season, leads in that category again. He was also the leading scorer in points per game last season, and thanks to major growth from his teammates, is fifth this season.

Dan Mavraides, who scored 11 points as a freshman, is averaging almost that much (10.5) per game as a sophomore. Douglas Davis (12.4 ppg) leads the team and is an Ivy League Rookie of the Year possibility. Pawel Buczak has had some breakout games in his junior season as he eased into the starting center role, none more impressive than the 15 points he scored to help Princeton to a 20-point win over Cornell February 6.

Speaking of that date, the 61-41 win opened the door to thoughts that this team might somehow challenge for an Ivy League crown much sooner than expected. Princeton followed it the next night with a 28-point win over Columbia. At 4-0, already with a decided victory over a team that went 14-0 in the Ivy last season, who could blame the dreamers?

But those who might have peeked at their mid-March calendars were soon pulled back to earth. A 12-point loss at Yale in which the Tigers couldn't match the physicality of the Bulldogs, who outrebounded Princeton by 20. The next night, Princeton lost by 18 at Brown to give the Bears their first Ivy League win of the season and hand the Tigers their worst loss in Providence since Americans were getting ready to choose between Vice President Nixon and a U.S. Senator from Massachussetts named Kennedy to succeed Ike in the White House.

Then came an overtime loss to Penn, and Princeton's 4-3 record seemed much further than 11 days from its 4-0 Ivy start.

But then came a little help. As Princeton was gutting out a win over Harvard Feb. 20, Yale was handling Cornell. The deficit in the Ivy standings was 1 1/2 games and could be made up if Princeton won out, even if Cornell didn't lose again.

Again, the Tigers couldn't keep their fate in their hands. The next night, Princeton led by 13 points in the first half against Dartmouth on an evening when the playing floor at Jadwin Gym was to be renamed for Princeton's 29-season former head coach, Pete Carril. The lead slipped away and eventually so did the game. With it, or so it seemed, was another shot the Ivy title.

Entering Jadwin Gym the following weekend were the Brown team that humiliated the Tigers just two weeks ago, followed by the Yale club that outmuscled a then-Ivy undefeated Princeton team.

With seemingly nothing to play for, at least in terms of the Ivy race, Princeton showed its moxie. It held on for a less-than-pretty win over Brown. It ran out to a 14-0 lead against Yale, lost most of it, and held on once again. And wouldn't you know it, Cornell stumbled.

So here we are, the calendar on March, and a few wins separating the Princeton basketball team from its 26th Ivy title.

In the first 24 games, the Tigers showed they can learn from lessons. They had lost leads, like the 13-point one they had at St. Bonaventure back in December, and lost games. They won when few expected them to, like last month against Cornell, but lost at Brown and Yale after some of those non-believers started to come around. After the Harvard win, what had been lost was at least partially regained, only to be lost again after Dartmouth won in Carril Court's debut.

The loss stung -- head coach Sydney Johnson referenced it Saturday night following the rematch win over Yale -- and the Tigers responded with wins over two teams that knocked them around in their first meeting.

One last time, the Tigers have their Ivy fate in their hands. The task is huge, with three wins on the road likely needed to touch the Ivy crown. It may happen, it may not. But once again, after some too-lean years, Princeton basketball matters again in March.

From the Washington Post:

While his young team was struggling this season, [Loyola coach Jimmy] Patsos was receiving national attention -- but not the kind he wanted. During a game against Cornell on Nov. 18, he left the bench at one point to sit in the stands with Loyola Athletic Director Joe Boylan, telling people afterward he had been reciting the Serenity Prayer to calm himself down because he was upset with the officials.

From The Dartmouth:

The Dartmouth men’s basketball team fell to Cornell Friday night 75-57, delivering a major blow to the Big Green’s postseason chances.

The loss to Cornell dropped the Big Green to three games back in the Ivy League standings with three games left in the season. Saturday’s win over Columbia, combined with Cornell’s loss to Harvard, means that the Big Green is not mathematically eliminated.

Dartmouth must win its games next weekend against Yale and Brown, and Cornell must lose its games against Penn and Princeton to force a tie at the top of the standings. The scenario is a long shot, however, as the Big Red team has not lost at home this year.

Because there is no tiebreaker in the Ivy League, such a scenario would give both Dartmouth and Cornell a share of the Ivy League title, and force a one-game playoff to determine which team would win the Ivy League’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Dartmouth came out of the gate looking for a strong start, seeking to avoid a repeat of the team’s last meeting in which Dartmouth faced a 14-point deficit at halftime.

The Big Green kept up with Cornell in the first half, even taking an early 13-7 lead. A few runs by the Big Red, however, opened up an eight-point lead for Cornell at halftime.

Dartmouth came out firing in the second half, cutting the deficit to three in the first five minutes. Then the rain came. In the next five minutes, Cornell made six three-pointers, taking a 13-point lead.

Any hopes for a comeback seemed to be dashed when Alex Barnett ‘09 missed two free throws, and Cornell’s Ryan Wittman hit a three on the other end. Wittman had 20 points on the night, and went four for five from behind the arc.

The highlight of the second half for the Big Green came at the 7:02 mark when Barnett stole the ball in the backcourt and elevated for a two-handed slam dunk that brought the crowd of 1,572 to its feet.

The Big Green, though, could not sustain a scoring run, and Cornell did not let up offensively, extending its lead to as much as 19.

Barnett finished the game with 19 points and nine rebounds. Other key contributors for the Big Green were Ronnie Dixon ‘11 who had 12 points, and Clive Weeden ‘11 with eight rebounds.

The Big Red lit up the scoreboard, shooting 50 percent from the field, and 58 percent from three-point range.

The Big Green, by contrast, shot just 35 percent from the floor and 26 percent from three-point range.